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“We had just a few small signs but HSBC posters were absolutely everywhere.

“We will be contacting the university to discuss their decision to ban free speech.”

One of the campaigners' bikes

Ms Gould said: “I’m a cyclist myself and a big fan of the annual Leicester city cycle ride.

“But if HSBC want to convince people that they care about people’s health and the environment, they need to do a lot more than sponsor rides like these.

“Through their sponsorship, HSBC is getting good publicity but people need to know that they still invest billions of pounds of customer money in fossil fuels which damage our health and the health of the planet.”

A spokesman for De Montfort University said: “At DMU, we actively encourage and facilitate freedom of speech, provided it is carried out fairly and legally. Our policy is only to allow demonstrations on DMU property where the organisers have previously sought permission of the university.

“However, in this instance, DMU security staff responded to reports of protestors on private DMU property and, having not been previously informed of the protest, politely asked the participants to move to public property to continue the protest.”